


Do You Believe...?

by TheRoseDuelist



Series: The Lost Triad Saga [7]
Category: Endless Summer (Visual Novel), Open Heart (Visual Novel)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-29
Updated: 2019-08-29
Packaged: 2020-09-29 18:57:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20440904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRoseDuelist/pseuds/TheRoseDuelist
Summary: Michelle receives an invitation and must decide whether to accept or decline.





	Do You Believe...?

_“Hey, Michelle. Sean here. I’m in Boston for the next couple of days. I know you’re busy but if you’re free, would love to get dinner or a drink and catch up. Hope you’re well.”_**  
**

_“To delete this message, press seven. To save—”_

Michelle ended the call. It was the fourth time she had listened to the voice message. Sean had called earlier in the day, but she’d been with patients and hadn’t seen the notification until an hour later. Then she delayed listening to it. Three more hours went by and finally, she willed herself to check her voicemail.

Now it was an hour later and she still hadn’t responded.

Lucky for her, Michelle had the excuse that she was busy saving lives. Literally. Or at least being supervised to save them since she was an intern. 

Michelle gazed at her phone and navigated to her text messages. Pulse quickening, she scrolled down to her conversation with Sean and clicked. The last message had been sent six months ago. Like a gentleman, he’d texted her happy birthday. She’d responded with a perfunctory ‘thank you’ even though she was secretly thrilled to hear from him and wanted to say more. But given how they’d drifted apart over the years, it didn’t feel...well, she just thought it didn’t make sense.

Even after four years Michelle still harbored feelings for the pro-football player. It was hopeless. She knew it. They’d reconciled while stuck on La Huerta, and she knew that Sean saw her as nothing more than a friend. Resigned, she’d accepted that.

A familiar knot tied itself in her stomach. Why had she done that? Why hadn’t she fought for their relationship after they returned from the island? 

It was a silly question. One that had occurred to her over and over again, and one that she’d answered countless times over the years with the same exact answer. Michelle didn’t want to handle the rejection. It was inevitable. Their moment had come and gone and it was her fault. So instead, upon returning to Hartfield, she’d buried herself in her studies, fighting to catch up to graduate on time and head to medical school. And she’d been successful. 

“Are you okay?”

Michelle snapped her head up and scrambled to shut her phone off. Dr. June Valentine stood in the hallway, auburn hair falling in perfect curls around her tan face. 

“I’m fine. Just waiting on labs.”

“If you say so,” June dropped onto the sofa across from Michelle, leaned back, and slung her arm over her face.

Michelle slid her phone back into the pocket of her white lab coat. Michelle liked June. In fact, she counted herself lucky that Juniper was her resident instead of Aurora or Jackie. June was both kind and intelligent but could be a hard ass when necessary. And she was personable, always sharing things about her life with her patients and interns. Yet Michelle was still wary of sharing her personal business even with her mentor. She didn’t want people to know her as one of the La Huerta Eleven, to give her special treatment because of what she’d been through. All she wanted was to be Michelle Nguyen, MD. 

“You don’t have to talk about it. But if you want to, I’m happy to listen.” June cast aside her arm and met Michelle’s eyes. “Also keeping things bottled up is hard.”

A flicker of weariness passed over June’s face, but it was gone as soon as it came. It was clear what June was talking about: Dr. Ramsey. At least, it was obvious to Michelle. 

Obviously, she could relate. 

From what the young intern gathered through observation, only Dr. Greene and Dr. Trinh knew about June’s feelings for the attending. If Dr. Ramsey felt the same for June though, he didn’t let on.

The voicemail burned in her mind, waiting to be answered. It would be a relief to talk about it with someone. Especially someone who didn’t know her and Sean’s history.

“I...It’s hard.” Michelle relented, fidgeting with her fingers. “I’m sure it’s harder when it’s your boss.”

June bolted upright, eyes nearly popping out of her sockets. “How do you know?”

“I have eyes,” Michelle responded with a smug grin. 

“Am I that obvious?”

“No, no. Don’t worry about that. And I haven’t told anybody. I get it because I’m...in a similar situation. An old ex.”

“Oh. Is there anything I can do to help?” June frowned, leaning forward and resting her chin on her upturned palm.

That was June. Always putting others before herself. Michelle admired that about her resident. Even after all the drama she’d been through the previous year — Michelle thought June was completely in the right with regards to her treatment for Mrs. Martinez — all she wanted to do was continue to help patients. And friends.

“No, but thanks. I feel like I should be the one asking you if I can help.”

“If you can solve my case this week then I’d be grateful.” June grinned. “I’m stumped. But I’m hoping the answer will come to me tomorrow after I get some sleep.”

“If anyone can solve it, it’ll be you. I mean...you solved Dr. Banerji’s case when no one else could.”

June shrugged. A comfortable silence fell between the two doctors, each becoming lost in her own thoughts. Reflecting, Michelle felt a warmth blossomed in her chest; it was nice to confide in another. It had been a long time since she’d done so. Her communication with Quinn and Grace hadn’t been as frequent since she started her intern year. And Estela was working for the FBI doing who knew what and very rarely reached out these days.

“Do you believe in true love?” June asked, interrupting Michelle’s thoughts.

“Um...I don’t know.”

True love. It was a fairytale concept and yet...she’d witnessed so much fantasy in her life, how could she dismiss the possibility that it existed?

Did she believe in true love: two souls tied together through time and space, meant to be with only one another? Her heart skipped a beat as an image of Sean appeared in her mind, unbidden. What if…?

She couldn’t allow herself to finish that question. Instead, her mind pulled up memories from four years ago, memories of La Huerta. Memories of Natalie and Jake. 

Though a considerable amount of time had passed, it still hurt Michelle to think of Natalie, knowing she was gone. One of her closest friends, a person Michelle had shared countless experiences with — experiences no one other than the La Huerta Eleven could possibly understand, and not even some of those — a person who became her ultimate confidante, just...gone. And she was never coming back. 

Michelle’s mind wandered, replaying Natalie and Jake’s handfasting ceremony. Natalie had worn a beautiful gossamer white gown and Jake had cleaned up nice, wearing a full suit. Michelle still didn’t understand what Natalie saw in him with his hotshot attitude — besides the fact that Jake was easy on the eyes — but still, Michelle knew that Natalie and Jake fit perfectly together. It was clear from just looking at them. How they gazed at one another; the way they touched hands or whispered in each other’s ears; the language they used towards in each other in conversation. They were just...meant to be. 

When they’d reached the States after the Coast Guard had rescued them, Jake had told Michelle that he would never love anyone like he loved Natalie again. He could never give his whole heart to another because she took a piece of it with her. And he, though he desperately missed her, was content with that. If he had to do it all again, with her still leaving at the end, he would without a doubt.

Michelle wondered if she would ever experience that unconditional love and loyalty.

“I do. I believe in true love. And fate. But I guess that’s the same thing.” Michelle responded, curling up into the sofa, a finger twirling the end of her brown-blonde ponytail.

“I think as doctors we aren’t supposed to believe in fate.”

“We’re told to not believe a lot of things that are true.”

“That’s fair. Like superheroes or time travel.”

“Do you believe in true love?”

“I...think so,” June answered, scooting back onto the couch and tucking her knees up to her chest. “I’ve never felt a pull like I do with him. And I know it’s different from anything I’ve ever felt. It’s…” She laughed without mirth, “It’s worth the risk to fight for.”

Tapping her finger on the sofa arm, Michelle’s eyes flicked to her pocket where her phone was. Sean was reaching out. Was he feeling a pull? The fact that she still thought of him four years since their breakup...was that a pull as well?

A ding sounded. June looked down and read her pager. “That’s my cue.” Jumping up from her seat, she glanced back at Michelle. “All you can do is decide if it’s worth the risk. Good luck, Michelle. Let me know how it goes.” And she strode out of the on-call room.

Flopping onto the couch face up, Michelle stared at the ceiling. Was it worth it? Was it worth it to put her heart on the line?

It seemed Sean wanted to. And if she was being honest with herself, she was desperate to as well.

Shutting her eyes, she thought of Jake’s words. Could she ever love anyone else like she loved Sean? Did she even want to?

In the silence, a small voice within her replied: no.

Slowly, she opened her eyes. Heart thumping in her chest, Michelle pulled out her phone and texted Sean: 

_I can do tomorrow after 9 if you want to grab a drink._

The response bubble appeared. And then:

_Great! Just tell me where._

Michelle put the phone to her chest and smiled. Maybe she could have what Jake and Natalie had. Just maybe.


End file.
